The Provincial Commissioner of police in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe has warned community members against the irresponsible usage of social media. This follows an arrest of a 20-year-old alleged serial Facebook rapist by the Tzaneen Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit on Christmas Day.
The suspect was arrested following several reported rape incidents of girls aged between 14 and 16 in the Modjadjieskloof and Bolobedu policing area since the beginning of December 2024.
The suspect allegedly lured his victims through Facebook and upon meeting them at Kgapane Plaza, he would convince them to walk a distance to the bushes near Manningburg where he raped and robbed them off their belongings such as cash and cellphones.
In one of the cases, the suspect met a teenage girl while she was walking to her friend’s house in Ga-Kgapane village and attacked her from behind. He then blindfolded her and dragged her to the same crime scene (Manningburg) where he raped her before robbing her cash and cellphone.
The suspect was arrested while at the Kgapane hospital where he was admitted after being attacked by one of the victims in sef-defence.
During the arrest, he was found in possession of a fake identity document. The Police also recovered some of the robbed cash and cellphone.
According to preliminary investigations, the suspect was on bail for another rape case of a 14-year-old girl that occurred in September 2024, using the same modus operandi.
In a separate case that took place on Christmas Day in Kanana village under Maake policing area, a 37-year-old suspect was caught red handed by the community raping a 30-year-old woman near a local river. The suspect attacked the victim with a stone and further assaulted her with fists before he raped her. The victim was rescued by the community and her relatives. The 37-year-old suspect was also attacked by the community and eventually rescued by the police who took him to the hospital and placed him under guard.
The Provincial Commissioner has welcomed the arrest of the alleged rapists and appealed to communities especially young women to be cautious when interacting with strangers on social media platforms such as facebook, since this poses a significant risk on their safety.
The arrested suspects are expected to appear before the Tzaneen Magistrate’s Court on Friday, 27 December 2024.
